Maco and I first met at the cafeteria. The good-looking film major student has a ponytail, slim, tall, and stylish. We ran into each other occasionally later on. This evening he asked me out to watch the original French version of Beauty and the Beast by Jean Cocteau in the library. Afterward we talked about the metaphors in the movie, filmmaking, school, and life in general.
The leading actress Josette Day is gorgeous. Her close-up is always glowing with a dreamy charm. French people surely know how to present a beauty. The plot is about a youngest daughter Beauty (Day) took her father’s place to live with a hideous monster Beast (Jean Marais). They somehow developed a subtle relationship. To win Beauty’s heart, the kind-hearted Beast bet his trust and life on Beauty and let her go home for a week when her father became terminally ill. After seeing Beauty returning home in glory like a princess, her family and friend revealed the monstrous side of human nature... The film ends with Beauty and beast-transformed prince living happily thereafter and all the bad guys punished.
Produced in the ’30s, the fascinating fairy tale is told in an excellent ”French way”--so very effectively with only a minimum amount of elements. What matters is the rather dramatic acting itself, not the magnificent set design or creative special effects; though they are also impressive in terms of the technology then. Many Hollywood movies are relatively to the contrary.
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